Centre for Civic Education (CCE) strongly condemns the act of vandalism involving the writing of graffiti containing a direct message of hate speech in front of the residential building where civic activists Nikola Ilić and Hana Konatar live. This is not just a graffiti – this is a threat, this is tangible hatred, this is an attempt to intimidate and expel citizens from their own city.
The CCE considers this cowardly attack on Hana and Nikola to be at the same time a direct attack on the fundamental values of a civic society and the freedoms of all citizens.
We remind that this is not happening for the first time, and even if it were, another routine police report would not suffice. The CCE emphasises that institutions have no right to remain passive or selective in addressing such cases, as this makes them complicit in the ongoing attempts to ‘normalise’ violence and discrimination.
We call on the Police Directorate and the Prosecution to urgently identify the perpetrators of this act and send a clear message that Montenegro is not – and will not become – a space where activists can be openly attacked without consequences. Institutional silence sends a clear message – where the state fails to protect, it indirectly approves.
We also call on all those who believe in a free, dignified and just Montenegro – citizens, organisations, initiatives – to raise their voices against hatred. We cannot and must not remain silent in the face of threats, because every unspoken threat is a green light for the next attack and for escalation of violence.
We will not leave our neighbourhood. We will not leave our country. We are staying. And we are fighting!
Miloš Knežević, Development Coordinator